


come home if you want a friend

by Shadowcrawler



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Birthday Cake, Birthday Fluff, Gen, Post-Season/Series 03
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-02
Updated: 2016-07-02
Packaged: 2018-07-19 19:33:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7374598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowcrawler/pseuds/Shadowcrawler
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mike and Ace throw Daisy an impromptu birthday party.</p>
            </blockquote>





	come home if you want a friend

**Author's Note:**

> I got very sad thinking about her on her own for her birthday, and then I decided maybe she went to go visit Mike and Ace, and I wanted to write something short and sweet. One thousand words later...

It’s 10:32 AM on the Saturday before the Fourth when Mike’s phone buzzes. He cracks an eye open and groggily fumbles for his phone on the bedside table. His first thought is maybe Mindy wants to check on their plans for Monday. Once he blinks the sleep from his eyes and actually looks at his phone, he almost drops it again.

The text is from an encrypted number and just says  _ Hey, long time no talk. Can you let me in? I’m outside. -D _

“Daisy?” he mutters, still trying to make sense of it all. Daisy’s been periodically texting him since he dropped off the grid with Ace, keeping him updated on what she can. She kept saying she was going to visit when she could get away, but he’s suspected that was years away, if ever. And now...apparently she’s outside their apartment.

He carefully gets out of bed and goes to knock on Ace’s door. “Hey, Ace?” he calls. “You up?”

“Yeah,” Ace says, and a minute later the door opens. “What’s up, Dad?”

“Uh, so Skye - I mean Daisy is waiting outside, I guess. She just texted me. You cool if I let her in?”

“Really?” Ace’s face lights up. “Wow, what’s she doing here? I thought you said she was really busy with SHIELD stuff.”

“I dunno. I guess we’re gonna find out.” Mike goes over to buzz her up.

A few minutes later, Daisy is sitting at their kitchen table scarfing down a bowl of Frosted Flakes. “How come your hair’s so different?” Ace asks skeptically.

“Hey,” says Mike sternly. “There’s a nicer way to ask that.” 

Chagrined, Ace asks, “I mean, why did you change your hair?”

Daisy laughs. “It’s okay. Long story, kiddo. Basically, I had to leave SHIELD and I didn’t want them finding me. This is just a wig.” She puts her spoon down long enough to pull it off carefully. “See?”

Ace tilts his head. “What happened with SHIELD?”

Daisy smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “There were...a lot of problems. I lost someone I cared about, and I changed a lot, and I didn’t feel like staying there was good for me anymore. So I’m on my own now.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.” Ace frowns. “So why did you come here?”

“‘Cause I missed you guys. I always promised I’d come back, didn’t I?” Daisy takes another bite of cereal before adding, almost too casually, “And, uh, it’s my birthday today and I didn’t want to be alone.”

“What? Aw, geez, Daisy…” Mike shakes his head. “Look, if you wanna wait here we can get you a cake or something…”

“Oh, you really don’t have to!” she protests. “I don’t need anything, I just...wanted to hang out with you guys for a bit.”

Ace looks at her, eyes huge and sad. “But everyone should have a cake on their birthday! Don’t you like cake?”

“I do. I mean, if you wanna get me one go ahead I guess? But only if you want to and you can and stuff,” she adds, glancing at Mike. “I really don’t want to cause trouble for you.”

“No, it’s really not any trouble. We weren’t doing anything today, right, Ace? We can go down to Safeway right now and grab one.”

“And candles!” chimes in Ace. “How old are you anyway? Oops, sorry, I’m not supposed to ask that, it’s rude.”

That makes Daisy laugh. “It’s okay to ask me, Ace. I’m twenty...twenty-seven, god. That’s so weird.”

“What kind of cake do you want?” Mike says. “I mean, we probably can’t get anything too fancy, but…”

“God, I dunno, chocolate? Chocolate is fine.”

\---

At Safeway, Ace picks out a round chocolate cake, a tube of red icing, and a pack of 20 blue-and-white striped candles. “But she’s 27,” he says. “Shouldn’t we get two packs?”

Mike sighs. “Yeah, we should, but they’re $3 each. We don’t have the money for the cake, the icing, and two packs of candles. I’m sorry.”

“Oh. Okay.” Ace’s shoulders slump a little, then he perks up and rummages in the pocket of his jeans before pulling out a tightly curled wad of bills. “I have some of my birthday money from Aunt Mindy left! Eleven dollars! I could buy the other pack.”

“Well, you don’t have to,” Mike says. “Only if you want to. I’m sure she’ll be fine with just 20.”

“I know, but she told me once that she didn’t get any real birthday parties when she was in foster care. She deserves one now, which means the right number of candles.” Ace grabs a second pack resolutely.

Mike smiles. “Okay, pal. That’s really nice of you.”

Ace shrugs. “We’re friends. That’s what friends do for each other.”

They happen to walk down the aisle that has cards and books on their way to the checkout, and that’s when Ace spots the display of Beanie Babies. “Oh!” he says, running over to it. “I could get her a present too. Which one do you think she’d like?”

“I’m not sure.” Mike looks over the big-eyed plushies. “Maybe that lion. If her birthday’s today, I think that makes her a Leo? And the symbol for that is a lion.”

“And lions are brave and strong, just like she is,” Ace agrees, grabbing it.

When they return to the apartment, Daisy is lounging in front of the TV. She mutes it, getting up to greet them. “Hey guys!”

“Hey,” Mike says with a grin.

Ace smiles, then he makes a comically serious face. “Go back to watching TV,” he says. “We’re going to decorate the cake and you can’t look until we’re done. It’s a surprise.”

“Aye aye,” says Daisy, flopping back onto the couch and turning the volume on.

Mike’s sometimes tried to write on Ace’s cakes himself, and he’s not too bad at it, he thinks, but Ace insists on trying to write it himself. It actually doesn’t turn out too badly - the HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAISY inscription is only a little smudged. Then he carefully places the candles around the outside, trying to keep them the same distance apart. “You still can’t look, Daisy!” he yells, running toward the closet where they keep the old gift bags. 

“I won’t!” she promises.

Three minutes later, Mike carefully carries the cake over to the table and sets it down, next to the oversize Transformers bag that Ace had put Daisy’s present in. “Okay, you can come over now!” Ace says.

“Oh my god,” says Daisy, looking a little awed. “Guys...you didn’t have to do all this.”

“But we wanted to,” Ace insists. “You’re our friend, and you deserve a real birthday party.”

Daisy swipes at her eyes a bit, then grins shakily. “That’s so sweet, thank you. I guess I’d better blow out the candles then, huh?”

“Guess you’d better,” says Mike with a smile, going to get the lighter.

After the world’s most off-key rendition of “Happy Birthday” and the requisite blowing-out of candles, Daisy looks at the present. “Am I allowed to open that now?”

“Go ahead!” says Ace. “I picked it. Well, Dad helped. Sorry, we didn’t have tissue paper or anything.”

“That’s totally okay,” Daisy promises as she looks inside. “Holy sh- crap, this is so cute!” She pulls out the lion and gives him a cuddle. 

“I thought ‘cause Leo, lions, I dunno.” Mike shrugs. “Glad you like him.”

“I really do,” Daisy says, voice shaking a little. “This is...thank you both so much.” 

Ace goes over to give her a hug. “Happy birthday, Daisy. Now let’s eat!”

“Good idea,” says Daisy, returning his hug and grinning. “That cake looks so good.”

Once they’ve all had their fill, Daisy looks a bit awkward. “Um. So I guess I’ll get out of your hair now.”

"You don’t have to!” says Ace. “You should stay till after the Fourth. We’re going to Aunt Mindy’s on Monday and Dad’s helping to barbecue, right, Dad?”

Mike nods. “I mean, if you don’t have anywhere else to be for the holiday, you’d be welcome.” 

Daisy swallows and is quiet a minute. “I really don’t want to inconvenience you guys.”

“You can sleep on the couch!” Ace says. “It’ll be fun.”

Daisy looks at Mike, who grins. “You really are welcome to stay for a few days, if you want to.”

Running her fingers through her hair, Daisy sighs and chuckles. “Ah, what the hell. I don’t have anywhere else to be.”

The next morning, Mike comes out of his room to make breakfast, half expecting Daisy to already be awake. Instead, she’s curled up on the couch, cradling the little lion close to her. The sheet they draped over the couch is half-falling off, so he tiptoes over and gently tucks it over her before going into the kitchen. She makes a contented little noise but doesn’t wake up. He smiles.  _ Happy birthday. _


End file.
